Take a Stand for Your Brand

You’ve developed your brand. Maybe recently, maybe years ago. But it’s your brand. It helps tell your story. Keeping your brand up to date and sharing it effectively can be quite difficult for business owners. At CustomXM, we understand the importance of a good, positive brand and we can help you create and promote that brand.

Why is branding so important? Well, for starters, it’s a clear-cut way for a customer to learn about you and your products. First and foremost, you want to have a consistent brand message across channels. From piece to piece and across channels (print, email, in-store displays), make sure your brand is consistent. Use the same color palettes, the same (or similar) imagery, and a tightly controlled logo. Create a similar look and feel, even if the design isn’t identical. All communications from your company should send an identifiable brand message.

Whether you’re just starting out or your business has been around for decades, it’s not always easy to get people talking about your brand. One of the easiest and most effective ways to spread the message is to identify and target your brand ambassadors. There are people out there talking about your brand. Find them and target them with brand-building messages. Positive word of mouth advertising, is the most valuable marketing you can get. Find out who your brand ambassadors are and create targeted messaging just for them. Speaking of those positive comments, testimonials are an easy way to share your brand. Whether it’s in print, online, or social media, people believe testimonials over traditional messaging. Begin collecting testimonials and add snippets to your postcards, direct mail letters, in-store signage, and other print marketing materials.

The evolution of the CustomXM brand from 1966 to present.

Should you ever change your brand? The answer is yes, especially if these 5 conditions apply:

When something has significantly changed in your business.
Businesses evolve, and there can come a point at which you are a different business than you were a few years ago. Maybe you’ve expanded into new areas. Maybe you’ve had a growth spurt and your local brand needs to grow with it.

When your customers have changed.
Not only do brands change, but so do customers. McDonald’s customers have become more health-conscious, for example. With these changes have come significant changes in presentation of the brand. Has your customer base gone through a significant and long-term change? If so, does this need to be reflected in your branding?

Your visual brand looks stale.
Eventually, even the best visual branding begins to look dated. What looked cool in 1966 (check out our original logo!) isn’t going to play today. Color trends, fonts, logos, and entire brand representations need a makeover every once in awhile. How long has it been since your brand had an update?

When your customers just aren’t that into you.
Customer engagement can often be recaptured with fresh, new ways of marketing, but sometimes, there is something about the branding that no longer connects. If you can’t get sales out of a slump, maybe new branding can help prospects see your products with fresh eyes.

You look like everyone else.
When you opened your business in a hot new market 10 years ago, you were unique. But as new competitors poured into the space, that uniqueness is disappearing. If you are no longer standing out from your competition, fresh branding can help you break through.